Do You Own a Temp Gun?

[Merlot]

^^
This kind of confuses me as well. My tegu ALWAYS rearranges the furniture to his liking and I have a big rock flat slate stone/slab that he HAS to put a little dirt on (kicks and swipes dirt on to it so his bare belly isn’t on it and he’s happy as can be) So when I “reset” the enclosure after a bath and it’s all nice and clean I now just put a little substrate on the rock slab and he’s perfect and doesn’t wanna mess with it AS MUCH. He’s still spoiled and likes moves the stuff around to his liking so I figured out his pattern. So at the basking site I place one of those analog reg type thermometer (ZooMed) under the basking site or other areas to get what I believe to be more accurate readings because I always get soemthing different with my digital gun, could be because of the emission setting bs but I don’t know. With the reg ones I get my nice 130 degrees plus. With my digital I have to play with the areas and accuracy. I don’t know. My tegu is great, but the temps still have me wondering if the thermo gun is better or if I have to invest in a higher quality one.

 

[timemeddler]

If your temperature gun is in question, try it out on a pot of boiling water, it should read 212 or pretty close to it. that's how I would test one.

 

[Cshelt11]

Can recommend a brand and model number

As an industrial maintenance tech. They are all pretty much the exact same thing. More expensive doesn't really make a difference in how you will use it.

 

[Espg714]

Please everyone! Be aware that if you aren't reading your basking temperature with a temp gun then you're not accurately measuring your basking temp. There is no way to measure it without one, even digital probes only tell you surrounding air temp. When keeping a basking species you MUST own a temp gun. Knowing your temps is vital to your animals life. Recommended tegu basking temps are 125-140f, with 115-125f for hatchlings. Monitor lizards: basking temps to be 140f+.

Many veterinarians and some enthusiasts will sometimes confuse air temperatures with surface temperatures, citing that such high basking temperatures would be fatal to your lizards, this is misinformation. Surface temperatures exceeding these recommended numbers have been documented (via temp gun) in areas as far north as New York!

You can find temp guns as low as $15 and up to $100 at your local hardware store, radio shack, amazon online, ebay or even pet stores that carry reptile supplies. You can also order fine quality temp guns at tempgun dot com.

Probe thermometers are great for measuring air temperatures, but cannot accurately display surface temperatures. Until you have a temp gun to accurately measure your basking surface, it's all guesswork.

written by Kayla Goldberg.

Exact one I have

 

[Wickedtactical]

Please everyone! Be aware that if you aren't reading your basking temperature with a temp gun then you're not accurately measuring your basking temp. There is no way to measure it without one, even digital probes only tell you surrounding air temp. When keeping a basking species you MUST own a temp gun. Knowing your temps is vital to your animals life. Recommended tegu basking temps are 125-140f, with 115-125f for hatchlings. Monitor lizards: basking temps to be 140f+.

Many veterinarians and some enthusiasts will sometimes confuse air temperatures with surface temperatures, citing that such high basking temperatures would be fatal to your lizards, this is misinformation. Surface temperatures exceeding these recommended numbers have been documented (via temp gun) in areas as far north as New York!

You can find temp guns as low as $15 and up to $100 at your local hardware store, radio shack, amazon online, ebay or even pet stores that carry reptile supplies. You can also order fine quality temp guns at tempgun dot com.

Probe thermometers are great for measuring air temperatures, but cannot accurately display surface temperatures. Until you have a temp gun to accurately measure your basking surface, it's all guesswork.

written by Kayla Goldberg.

Get one for $12 on eBay mine has worked for a year! Yes get a temp gun. Please understand temperature is everything. If you control the temperature you can control the behavior of the tegu. My Blue Tegu Spartacus is now one year old. I control his daily routine with temperature.

 

[Roadkill]

As an industrial maintenance tech. They are all pretty much the exact same thing. More expensive doesn't really make a difference in how you will use it.

Yes and no. Pyrometers (the technical name for these infrared, contactless devices) all function on the same principles, but a cheaper one will have greater limitations than a more expensive one, usually. Primarily, as I stated before, the D:S (distance:surface) ratio is something everyone should be aware of for their devices to know just how far away they can use their device and still be only measuring the animal (or other object they are trying to measure). I'm also seeing a lot of devices now also coming with an "optimal distance" statistic, indicating at what range they give a reliable value.

 

[Wickedtactical]

Yes and no. Pyrometers (the technical name for these infrared, contactless devices) all function on the same principles, but a cheaper one will have greater limitations than a more expensive one, usually. Primarily, as I stated before, the D:S (distance:surface) ratio is something everyone should be aware of for their devices to know just how far away they can use their device and still be only measuring the animal (or other object they are trying to measure). I'm also seeing a lot of devices now also coming with an "optimal distance" statistic, indicating at what range they give a reliable value.

Get a temp. Gun !

 

[Roadkill]

Get a temp. Gun !

Pyrometer = temp gun

 

[Wickedtactical]

Get a temp. Gun !

Pyrometer = temp gun

My entire operation with Spartacus is digital. Compuerized. I manage his temperature within one degree day or night! As a result he is on a schedule.

 

[ToadHallBetty]

Today i got my new temp gun i got the
Bosch - PTD 1 Thermodetector
Wich got 3 emission settings, and it can also messure humidity, and can predict chance of mold forming. Its super easy to use its kinda costly around 90 euro, but as junk costs money also and the product will likely have a verry long lifespan i absolutely recommand it

But omg what a differance with the air temp, alot more then ive imagined,

But can someone explain to me why the111111 surface temp is more accurate then the air temp, cuz unless im walking on bare feet, the surface temp doesnt matter to me 1qq much, but the air temp does.. like if the ground is burning hot from the sun, but there would be a cold wind im getting cold.
Is it cus they are much lower to the ground then i am?
And if such should there be a different optimal air temp and surface temp?
Are those temps u see everyone naming tempgun temps or air temps?

 

[IG:teguzilla]

Do these sometimes malfunction? Mine is now reading 95 in his basking area abou 6 inches from a 160 watt MVP and a CHE. Doesn't seem possible to be that low. Also doesn't even register 100 plus in bath water at hottest temp.

If you are shooting through a screen or glass then the reading *can* be off by quite a bit.